Quartet of Trojans Receive Academic All-District Awards
CSC Academic All-District Women's Volleybal Teams | TU Honors Page
UPLAND, Ind. – Formerly known as CoSIDA, the College Sports Communicators (CSC) has announced the 2022 Women's Volleyball Academic All-District award-winners representative of the NCAA Division I, II, and III, and the NAIA.
The No. 11 Taylor Trojans were recognized with four individual awards, honoring the academic achievements of seniors, Kacy Bragg, Ryan Czerniak, and Karli Ware, alongside sophomore, Chloe Holtz.
For Bragg and Czerniak, 2022 marks the third-consecutive year in which they have received Academic All-District honors, while Ware picked up her second academic award in as many years and Holtz garnered the first of her collegiate career.
A native of Warsaw, Indiana, Bragg posted a 3.83 grade-point average while traversing a psychology courseload. All the while, Bragg was named the Crossroads League Setter of the Year for the second straight season, as she became just the fourth Trojan in program history to surpass 4,000-career assists.
Czerniak boasted an even more impressive grade-point average of 3.90, which was maintained throughout the treacherous workload of a human physiology and preventative medicine curriculum. On the court, Czerniak stymied opponents' defense by maintaining a .400 hitting percentage or better for much of the season, which in large part earned her Taylor's first Crossroads League Player-of-the-Year award in over a decade.
Ware, a health science major with a trajectory toward nursing school, maintained a 3.76 grade-point average while embodying a critical presence in Taylor's back line. Ware has tallied the team's fifth-most digs in 2022 with a career-high season total of 243, which gives her 648 for her career.
Holtz, meanwhile, posted a 3.75 grade-point average while pursuing a career in art education. Although playing in fewer matches than the three Trojans listed above, Holtz has played in significant moments throughout Taylor's remarkable 2022 season. Along the way, Holtz has totaled 61 digs, while consistently exercising craft in her passes out of service receptions.
The CSC Academic All-District distinction is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements, both in the classroom and on the field. To receive the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher on a 4.0 scale, must have achieved sophomore status academically with at least one full year at their current institution, and must have participated in over half of the team's competitions as a key contributor during the current season. Each University is limited to nominating four players for the award.
Student-athletes are nominated for the award by their institution's Sports Information Department and receive CSC Academic All-District honors if they meet the qualifications.
Taylor's four CSC All-District recipients will now advance to a ballot for CSC All-American honors, which will be voted on by members of the CSC before being announced in late December.